Needle-motion for sewing-machines.



PATENTED JUNE 13, 1905.

D. 'NQBLS.

NEEDLE MOTION FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED EBB. 6, 1902.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

A TTOHNEY WITNESSES No. 792,547. PATENTED JUNE 13, 1905. D. NOBLE.

NEEDLE MOTION FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED PEB- 6. 1902.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

IIIIIIIIIIJIIII WITNESSES //v VENTOH JF M A TTOHNEY No. 792,547.PATENTED JUNE 13, 1905.

D. NOBLE. NEEDLE MOTION FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 6, 1902.

3 BHEETSSHEET 3.

A TTORNE r UNITED STATES Patented June 13, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

DONALD NOBLE, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO HEELER & IVILSONMANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTI- CUT, A CORPORATION OFCONNECTICUT.

NEEDLE-MOTION FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 792,547, dated June 13,1905.

Application filed February 6, 1902. Serial No. 92,874.

To all 10/1/0711, (it may concern:

Be it known that I, DONALD NOBLE, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented acertain new and useful Improvement inNeedle-Motions for Sewing-Machines, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to that class of sewingmachines used for makingornamental stitches, buttonholes, eyelets, overseaming, &c., and inwhich the needle-bar is caused to descend in different vertical lines;and the invention has especial reference to the construction of theneedle-bar-actuating link. In machines of the character mentioned,wherein the needle-bar is mounted in a pivoted frame or gate oscillatedso as to cause the needle to descend in different vertical lines, asordinarily constructed a considerable cramping or binding is frequentlycaused between the needle-baractuating link and its connections, largelydue to the impracticability of maintaininga proper alinement of theseparts. In the operation of some machines (as, for instance, my machineillustrated in United States patent dated August 13, 1901, N0.'680,665)such cramping action is fatal to the work being done; and it is theobject of my invention to provide means for operativelyconnecting theneedle-bar with its driving mechanism, so as to overcome this objection.

My invention consists in a link or pitman swiveled at opposite ends,respectively, to the needle-bar and to the cam or crank-arm or otherdevice on the needle-shaft from which the needle motions are derived, soas to permit it to swing in directions transverse to each other, wherebysaid link may readily accommodate itself to the movements of the pivotedgate within which the needlebar reciprocates,th us avoiding allliability of cramping action between said link and its cooperating partswhen the needle-bar is positioned for reciprocating in differentvertical lines, all as I will proceed now more particularly to set forthand finally claim.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, in the severalfigures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is avertical longitudinal section, partly broken, illustrating a Wheeler 6'sNVilson overseaming or zigzag machine equipped with my improvement. Fig.2 is a front end elevation of said machine, the face-plate beingremoved. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken in the plane of line A A,Fig. 2. Fig. 4c is a side elevation of the needle-bar-actuating link.Fig. 5 is a detail perspective View of the needle-bar-actuating link andits connections. Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 3, on a larger scale,illustrating my improvement in connection with a needle-bar ofrectarfgular shape in cross-section. Fig. 7 is a vertical sectionalelevation taken in a plane similar to Fig. 1, but broken away andillustratinga modified form of my improvement. Fig. 8 is a horizontalsection taken in the plane of line B B, Fig. 7 Fig. 9 is a perspectiveview of the link and crank-pin shown in Fig. 7.

In this specification only such limited reference will be made to thewell-known parts of a sewing-machine as may be necessary for a properunderstanding of my invention.

1 is the frame or bed-plate. 2 is the overhanging arm mounted thereon.

3 is the driving-shaft.

4 is the loop-taker, of any suitable construction, operatively connectedwith the drivingshaft in the usual or any approved manner. In thepresent instance said loop-taker is driven by a short transverse shaft5, to which motion is transmitted by a counter-shaft 6 through a trainof bevel gears 7 8 9, said counter-shaft 6 being driven from a shaft 10,operated from the driving-shaft 3 by the connecting-rods 11, the usualvariable-motion link 12 and its connections 13 1 1 being interposedbetween the shaft 10 and counter-shaft 6.

15 is the needle-bar, mounted in a frame or gate 16, pivoted betweenscrew-threaded pintles 17, tapped in the end of the overhanging arm 2.

18 is a segment-lever pivoted on the arm 2 and in operative connectionwith a cam 19, fast on the driving-shaft 3.

20 is a link or pitrnan, one end of which is l pivotally attached to thepivoted gate 16, while the opposite end is pivoted to the segmentlever18. i

21 is the take-up lever, pivoted on the arm and engaged by the usualtake-up earn 22, fast on the end of the shaft 3.

23 is the prcsser-bar, 24 is the presser-foot, and 25 is thethroat-plate.

All of the above-mentioned parts are of the usual or may be of anyapproved construction and are common to the well-known Wheeler & W'ilsonZigzag sewing-machine.

26 is the needle-bar-actuating link, which has a ball-stud 27 tappedwithin its upper end and provided at its lower end with a sphericalrecess or ball-socket 28, which incloses a ballstud 29, formed on theneedle-bar collar 30. The threaded end of the stud 27 is nicked toreceive a screw-driver for adjusting said stud to take up wear and forother purposes.

31 is a jam-nut by-means of which the stud is secured in its adjustedposition.

The ball-stud 2T enters and is inclosed within a spherical recess orball-socket 32, formed in the take-up cam 22. The socket 32to receivethe ball-stud 27 is formed in the take-up cam and in two sections, onehalf of said socket being milled in the cam, while the other half ismilled in a block 33, which is detachably secured upon the cam by screws34, and in like manner the ball-socket 28 is formed in the end of thelink 26, one half of said socket being milled in the link, while theother half is milled in a block 35, detachably secured in place byscrews 36. The upper end of the link 26 adjacent to the face of thetake-up cam is beveled or crowned, as shown at 26, the apex of the crownbeing adapted to contact with the face of the take-up cam to prevent thelink from twisting or turning on its longitudinal axis withoutinterfering with the outward swinging movement of said link when theneedlebar frame or gate 16 is oscillated, as will be readily understoodby reference to Figs. 1, 3, 4, and 5.

The collar 30 is slotted and secured upon the needle-bar by apinch-screw 37.

38 1s a tongue or feather formed integral with the collar 30 andprojecting rearwardly therefrom within a vertical groove or slot 39,formed in the gate 16 in order to prevent the needle-bar from turning inits bearings.

The gate 16 is actuated by the cam 19 to cause the needle to descend indifferent vertical lines, and it will be evident that the link 26, byreason of the character of joints formed at each end thereof, will befree to accommodate itself to the movements of said gate without causingthe slightest cramping action.

In Fig. 6 1 have shown my improvement in connection with a needle-bar ofrectangular shape in cross-section, wherein the ball-stud 40 is tappedwithin the needle-bar and a jamnut 41 run on the end of said. stud toprevent the latter from working loose. The operation of this modifiedstructure is the same as that of my preferred construction previouslydescribed.

In Figs. 7, 8, and 9 I have shown a modified form of the joint at theupper end of the link, the latter being pivoted by a shouldered screw 42to a crank-pin 43, journaled within a recess 44 in the take-up cam 22.The pivotscrew 42 is secured at right angles to the axis of thecrank-pin 43, so that the driving end of the link will, as before, befree to swing in the directions of the oscillations of the needle-barand accommodate itself thereto. The crank-pin 43 has an annular groove45, within which the beveled nose of a screw 46 projects, whereby saidcrank-pin is secured within the cam, but is free to turn after themanner of a swivel. 47 is a jam-screw which backs up the screw 46 toprevent the latter from getting loose. The operation of this modifiedconstruction is similar to that of my preferred construction, and afurther reference thereto in this respect is deemed unnecessary.

The take-up cam 22 merely serves as a convenient member whereby the link26 is operatively connected with the driving-shaft, and in machineswhere no take-up cam is employed, such as single-thread or chain-stitchmachines, an ordinary crank-arm equipped with a socket or recess toreceive the ball 27 or crank-pin 43 may be substituted for said take-upcam, as is obvious.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a sewing-machine, the combination of a stitch-forming mechanismprovided with a needle and a needle-bar, a gate pivoted to theoverhanging arm and supporting the needlebar, a loop-taker cooperatingwith said needle-bar, adriving-shaft from which the needlebar andloop-taker are both operated, and means for effecting the horizontaloscillation of said pivoted gate, whereby the needle-bar is positionedfor reciprocating in different vertical lines, and a connection betweensaid needle-bar and driving-shaft comprising a link or pitman providedat one end. with a ballsocket, a ball-stud rigid with the needle-bar andengaged by said ball-socket, a universaljoint connection applied to theupper end of said link or pitman, a take-u p cam for receiving saidconnection, and means for adjusting the connection between the upper endof the link and the cam and thereby holding the upper face of the linkin intimate rocking connection with the said cam, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a sewing-machine, the combination of a stitch-forming mechanismprovided with a needle'and a needle-bar, a gate pivoted to theoverhanging arm and supporting the needlebar, a loop-taker cooperatingwith said neesaid link or pitman, a take-up cam, a ballsocket formed inthe take-up cam, the face of said link adjacent to and in contact withthe take-up cam being crowned, and a jam-nut on I5 said ball-stud,substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 28th day ofJanuary, A. D. 1902.

DONALD NOBLE. WVitnesses:

G. I. VAN HORN, C. N. WVORTHEN.

